Cornwall (& a stop in Salisbury)

Since moving to London, Dan and I have been working through a long list of European destinations we want to get to during our time here.  This year, we decided we needed to add a few UK destinations to that list and really explore the country we're living in a little more.  One of those places was Cornwall and it was also a place my parents were interested in visiting.  So, during their most recent European trip, which included 2 weeks in France before stopping in to see us in London, we drove out for a long weekend in St. Ives.

In order to break up the 5 hour drive a little bit, we made a stop in Salisbury on our way out.  Salisbury is well known for its cathedral, which has the tallest spire in the UK as well as one of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.  Mom, Dad and I explored the cathedral while Dan stayed outside with Henry (glad to have an excuse to skip one of the hundreds of cathedrals I drag him into.)  The cathedral is beautiful and has by far the most interesting baptismal font I have seen.  The Magna Carta is held in the chapter house.  It was surprisingly uncrowded when we were there and one of the bored volunteers was itching to talk to someone, so we got a detailed explanation of how to read the Magna Carta and which parts have been the most significant in shaping present day governments.

 baptismal font (a modern addition):

 When the spire was added it was so heavy that it caused the existing marble columns to bend:

We then popped into a cute pub for lunch before getting back on the road. 

After navigating the steep hill to our rental for the weekend, we headed out for dinner at the restaurant right at the bottom of our hill, Porthminster Beach Cafe, highly recommended by our host.  We sat outside right on the beach and the food was delicious.

sampling a local ale:

That night, at about 3am, I woke up to what sounded like throwing up in the bathroom.  I wandered into the living room where my dad was hunched over complaining of severe pain.  I asked what was up and he said, "I want to go to the hospital but mom won't let me."  Of course this happens in Cornwall where the nearest hospital is almost an hour away instead of London where we could be there in 5 minutes.  I said I didn't know where there was a hospital to which my dad replied, "Call 911 and tell them your father is dying!"  My mom manages to locate a phone number for the St. Ives community hospital.  They answer but say that we need to take Dad to the Urgent care in Penzance, a 20 minute drive.  So I wake Dan up and we all head over to Penzance.  The nurse practitioner takes my dad back, pumps him up with morphine and then informs us that it sounds like he has a kidney stone.  I'm relieved at this point, even though I know kidney stones are supposed to be extremely painful, but at least my dad is not dying, as he would have had me believe;)  They have to take him to the proper hospital in Truro for a CT scan to confirm, a 40 minute drive, but they will call an ambulance to come get him.  She sends us home saying there is nothing we can do and they will just be giving him lots of morphine until the stone passes.  So we head back and try to salvage a couple hours sleep.

The next morning after calling to check in on Dad and finding that he was sleeping and still waiting for a CT scan, we went for a walk into town.  Our first stop was for some breakfast on the beach as we had not had a chance to visit the grocery store the night before.

view from our building:

our beach, Porthminster:

From there we ventured into the main town of St. Ives, about a 5 minute walk along the water.  The town was absolutely adorable, with lots of cute restored fishing cottages and tons of bakeries and shops.

We made our way over to the dog beach just on the far side of the harbour and let Henry run around in the ocean and get covered in sand before looping back around to the windy side of the town and checking out the surfing beach.

 surfing beach:

After checking in on Dad again, who was still waiting for a CT scan, we picked up some supplies at the grocery store, and then made up a little picnic for the beach.  What had looked like it was going to be a pretty cloudy day turned out to be bright and sunny and even warm enough to lay out in our bathing suits.

and of course, have some ice cream:

While we were sunbathing, we got a call from Dad saying he was ready to be picked up.  A welcome surprise since the last time we had checked in the nurse told us he would likely have to spend another night in the hospital.  Apparently, by the time he had the CT scan, the kidney stone was already on its way out and he was no longer in pain.  They sent him home with some medication to help the stone pass but said it would likely just pass without him knowing at this point.  So, after thinking we may be driving back and forth to the hospital all weekend and Dad might miss out on the whole trip, we were happy to find out we'd have him back soon:)

While Dan went to pick him up, Mom and I took a beautiful walk with Henry along the southwest coast path.  The coast path actually runs 630 miles all along the coast of Cornwall.  The section from St. Ives to Carbis Bay, the next town over, was about 1 mile and was full of gorgeous homes and spectacular views.

That night we took it easy on our patient and stayed in for dinner and played some games.  The next morning we walked along the coast path again since the men hadn't seen it, and took a few extra detours along the way.  The morning sun made the views even prettier than the day before; we were all so surprised at how turquoise the water was and how white the sand was.  The cliffs and wildflowers were all as I had pictured Cornwall but the beaches had an almost Caribbean feel; it really was gorgeous.

After our walk we had a couple hours to lay on the beach before making our way over to the West Cornwall Golf Club just a few minutes away in Lelant.  The course was set right on the water which made for great views but also really windy conditions.  Fortunately, aside from one quick shower, the sun was out most of the time so it stayed warm despite the wind.  It was a funky links style course with lots of holes crossing over each other.  We were constantly consulting the map trying to figure out where we were supposed to be hitting only to find out we were completely wrong on more than one occasion.  But it was a fun course and we played a pretty competitive game of Bingle, Bangle, Bungle that Dan won (big surprise.)

 post rain shower rainbow:

After golf, Dan and I took Henry over to the dog beach again to burn off some energy.  At low tide, the entire harbour becomes a tidal flat and all the boats end up sitting on sand.  After 7pm you can take your dogs in this area to run around and Henry had a blast.  He was so knackered he barely wanted to take a walk the next day and he had a little hitch in his step all week.  Poor little 8 year old gets sore muscles easily these days;-)

That night we ate dinner at a casual fish and chip place in town.  Dan had been told by several British coworkers that Cornwall has the best fish and chips in the country and I have to say I would agree.

The next morning we were on the road early to explore some other areas of Cornwall.  We decided to drive a loop around the southern coast from St. Ives to Penzance, making a couple of stops along the way.  Our first stop was the Carn Galver Mine, which functioned as a tin mine during the mid 19th century.  It is named after the nearby "carns", which are rock piles thought to be used for burials in ancient times.  We hiked up to the carns for a closer look and some great views along the coast.

the two buildings by the road are the ruins of the tin mine:

 the "carn":

Our next stop was Land's End.  Land's End is the most westerly point in England.  We parked the car and hiked about a 1/2 mile to the cliff edge.  It was a little drizzly but the views were great, well worth the walk in the rain.

 Before this shot Mom told Dad to get in the picture and he said, "you want me to ruin the picture?" and sure enough, he did (unintentionally) with this ridiculous face:

After drying off a little in the car, we proceeded to get soaked again as we arrived in Penzance and got out to walk along the sea there.  We quickly made our way into a cozy pub, the Turk's Head (allegedly the oldest pub in Penzance) for some beers and a nice lunch.

Our last stop was Saint Michael's Mount, the Cornish counterpart to Monte Saint-Michel, with the same tidal island characteristics.  It can be reached by foot during low tide but we just stopped across the water in Marazion for some pictures.

As we arrived back in St. Ives, the sun came out so we decided to head down to the "rustic" mini golf course next to the beach (and as it was after hours, we had to bring our own putters and use reeds as the flag poles.)  We played girls vs. boys and designed our own holes.  Then we grabbed some gin & tonics to drink on the beach as the sun set before picking up some Cornish pasties for dinner.

On our long drive home the next day, we inadvertently drove right by Stonehenge.  Dan and I had not seen it and had never been interested enough to make the trip but it was fun to get a quick glance. Aside from the kidney stone drama, it was a wonderful trip and a great chance to see another unique area of England.